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| Sison confirmed as US
ambassador to Lebanon WASHINGTON - The US Charge D'Affaires to Lebanon Michele Sison was confirmed by Congress late Wednesday as her country's ambassador in Beirut. "Lebanon is at the forefront of our efforts to promote democracy, promote human rights and freedom, and to combat extremism in the Middle East," said Sison before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in her confirmation hearing. "The Lebanese people benefited from the Doha agreement," she said, while noting that a new Lebanese president was elected and fighting stopped between factions. This agreement reached in the Qatari capital between Lebanese factions resulted in the election of Lebanese President Michel Suleyman and the formation of the new government on May 25. Sison described the fact that Hezbollah had only one minister in the government as "interesting" and downplayed the importance of Hezbollah having a blocking vote since the Lebanese cabinet "has typically operated on a consensus basis." "I have to say that Hezbollah's efforts to establish its own telecom network and its decision to conduct its own airport surveillance in Beirut remain areas of concern," added Sison. The decision of the last Lebanese government on those issues triggered violence in Lebanon last May. "We do believe that a diplomatic resolution to the Shebaa dispute would have the effect of undermining Hezbollah's so-called resistance credentials and complicate Hezbollah's effort to maintain an armed state within a state," said Sison. "Ideally that Shebaa Farms dispute would have resolved by a bilateral border delineation between Syria and Lebanon," she added. The new US ambassador said that it was "personally difficult" for her to watch the Lebanese media covering the release of Samir Kuntar from Israeli prisons, noting that Kuntar "is not a hero." She thanked the Chairman of the Senate Committee Joe Biden for allowing her to serve as a charge a'affaires in Lebanon since last February before confirmation and pledged to work hard "to advance US interests in Lebanon" and ensure the safety of Americans and US Embassy staff in Lebanon. She said that the United States had committed over USD one billion since 2006 as part of the assistance program to Lebanon and would work to strengthen the Lebanese security forces and advance reforms. Senator John Kerry, who presided the hearing, described the newly formed government as a "fragile coalition" that would only last until the 2009 parliamentary elections. "Syria continues to interfere in Lebanon's domestic affairs, supplying Hezbollah with weapons and support that have enabled it to act as a state within a state," he added. Kerry described the decision to establish diplomatic relationship between Lebanon and Syria as a "historic announcement" for Lebanon's sovereignty. "The Hariri tribunal can also provide an opportunity to bring some closure to the tragic political violence that has plagued Lebanon for generations now, " he added. Kerry also welcomed Israel's offer to negotiate with Lebanon. In the same hearing, David Pearce was confirmed as US ambassador to Algeria, and Richard Olson as US ambassador to the United Arab Emirates. |
